Over a decade ago, and likely fuelled by Beer Chang at the time, I remember seeing a Singaporean punk band appropriately called Opposition Party, completely shred a basement bar strangely located in the bowels of the Watana District Office on Thonglor, BKK. In those distant weird days it was like hearing the sounds and howls of urban Asian rage against the near-dystopian machine. That South-East Asia has such a thriving punk scene has been documented extensively and previously by authors such as Marco Ferrarese and Pablo Ramirez. Whether this is a continuing reaction to ongoing attempts to control peoples’ lives, or the manic underground stylings of cultures in revolt is up for debate. What is beyond doubt however, is that punk, across Asia, continues to throw up exhilarating, incandescent music; relentless sonic noise for the struggle against injustice and the futile attempts of faceless overlords to implement ever-stricter systems of suppression.
 
The latest documented artifact of such rebellion-fuelled creativity is Siam Underground Volume 1, a compilation of 14 punk-rock stalwarts from the local Bangkok band scene. There’s something here for everyone from the snarling guitar/bass combo of Cold Black Vines’ eponymous track, to the sludge-like power-throb of Depressed’s “King of Nothing”; from the frenzied thrash of Lowfat’s “Butsuyoku Paradise” to the manic dynamism of “Bad Horse” by God Hates. Other killer standout-tracks for me include:
 

• Chaos of Society – “Murderer”
• Foolish The Bastards – “Police are Bastards”
• The Lunatix – “Mueng A Hia”
• Strive For Nothing – “Sand King”
• The Die Hards – “Civil War”
• The Greed – “I’ve Got No Feeling Yet”

 
Siam Underground Volume 1 is available on Bandcamp for download. Make a donation and contribute to financing a CD release of this awesome compilation. Volume 2 is already in the works!

- AW

Belated Notes From The Bangkok Thai Underground
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The last couple of occasions you were in Bangkok you accumulated a big pile of freakin’ awesome local music CDs, but time is always the enemy and you never got around to reviewing any of them. Surely, given you were just here in April (when you grabbed yet more cool music stuff), there couldn’t be any more now, right? I mean c’mon, really? But nope, you were wrong and, as the monsoon rains lashed the capital city where people wear black, you bought a bunch of amazing music just in the last week or so. And here they are:
 
6. The Bandit Boy “self-titled” (Minimal Records, 2016). Earlier this month Chiang Mai-based label Minimal Records brought not one but two of their bands down to Bangkok for a double album-launch at Play Yard. I missed the gig unfortunately, but on the strength of both CDs it looks like the misfortune is entirely mine. The Bandit Boy are Book (vocals), Ham (guitar), Bank (bass), and Joe (drums). On their self-titled album the schizoid-sounding music snaps and crackles through so many genre changes the Bandit Boy almost reminds me of Dread Zeppelin but with considerably less bloat. Although described as indie-screamo-math rock, some of the other styles on here include crooner-pop, funk and rap. Opening track ‘Fish Stop’ even sandwiches at least four of them into the one song! If you like your music eclectic, disparate, surprising, and utterly immune to perceived genre restrictions then this album is a must buy for you! Favorite tracks: Fish Stop, Sadness & Sorrow, Reverse, Pass Away
 
5. The Inthanoo “Long Way Down” (Minimal Records, 2016). The other new band making their full-length debut on Minimal Records are The Inthanoo, featuring Korrakote Gunthida, Terdpong Pongjinda, Thanapat Kajanopas, Narawit Chaleeniwat, and Porrama Lumpowpong. They play a bright shiny indie shoegazer rock, with perhaps more influence on the indie and the rock, but the range is wide, from mellow introspective songs to epic chest-thumpers. ‘Time Travel’ is my standout track – a spiky, snarling, wailing number with tight rhythm and serious guitar chops – it’s an absolute belter. Get this CD now, along with the Bandit Boy’s album at happening or DJ Siam. Favorite tracks: Just Me, Time Travel, Souless, Loop
 
4. She “Peace Love Den” (Newlights Production, 2017). The Newlights Production record label continues to track down fresh artists and coax them into the studio to record their debut releases. She’s “Peace Love Den” is the latest and it’s a full album of nine tracks. The band-members are perhaps deliberately obscure (their profile lists them only as an indie-pop alternative outfit from Samut Prakarn), but their music is far more accessible. It’s an atmospheric swirl of dense indie sounds, layered with synth wash and jangling and chiming guitars, at times verging on the anthem-like. In fact it reminds me of and compares favorably to White Collar, who I reviewed here. Grab a copy now at Ageha Café! Favorite tracks: Female Stop, The World Changes Your Heart, She’s Around
 
3. The Deer Tracks “The Archer Trilogy Pt. 3” (The Control Group, 2013). The Deer Tracks are a long-running band from Sweden featuring talented multi-instrumentalists David Lehnberg and Erin Lindfors, who recently played at Jam down near Bangkok’s Sathorn Road as part of their Asian tour. Unfortunately, I only caught the tail end of the gig, which was still great, but I did manage to snap up 4 awesome CDs of the band and their projects, of which this is my favorite. The Deer Tracks are self-described purveyors of northern lights electronica, but we all know the score – chattering beats and breaks, crystalline keyboard moods, spectral haunting female vocals, and as such not a million miles removed from Thailand’s own many skillful practitioners of local dream-pop – think Slow Reverse, Talkless, and many, many others. This is absorbing music, rich in both atmosphere and emotion, and greatly adds value to your complex inner lives. The Deer Tracks have a pile of music available on iTunes and you can totally knock yourself out here. Favorite tracks: Divine Light, Astral Ship, Explodion, Road To
 
2. Various Artists “A Part of You A Part of Me 2” (2015). This compilation CD has been curated by Tokin Teekanun from Triggs and The Longest Day, and features music to accompany a multimedia art installation project (curated by Chol Jenepraphaphan) at the Jam Factory back in January 2015. Tokin has collected a diverse and talented group of Thai musicians to create some seriously eclectic music ranging from tight reinterpretations of a band’s current material to brand-new never-before-heard improvisational jams. Some of my favorite tracks include:

• ‘Money Trust Peace’ by Prin from legendary Thai indie band Death of A Salesman, is a short propulsive piece with skittering rhythms, mellow guitars and a giggling baby. Disturbing!
• ‘I Love Delay’ by Win from the Srirajah Rockers sounds like a scenario in which you drop Tortoise into the middle of the jungle with a decent amount of Thai stick, and see what results. In this case it comes across as an alternative ending to Apocalypse Now, where everyone just got along and made music together.
• ‘Childhood’ by Free Typewriter, who are my go-to for mellow, delicate Thai acoustic material, and this song is no exception. Precious.
• ‘Episode IV’ by Thom AJ. MadSon, formerly lead guitarist of incredible post-rock outfit Assajan Jakgawan, features epic, awesome riffage he has lately continued to explore with his new trio Vimutti. As such, this solo outing is both a historical artifact and an uplifting sonic anthem to be treasured and enjoyed.

Other artists include La-La, June from Stylish Nonsense, Napat Snidvongs, Gene Mahasmut Bunyaraksh from Saliva Bastards/Little Fox/Ugly Mountain, Hariguem Zaboy, and Flower Dog. Phew! I bought mine (and you can get yours!) at Bungkum House Records/1979 and Unknown Pleasures.
 
1. Amatuti Dub Drawing Space “Trip In Summer” (unknown year). This is another CD I saw at Bungkum House/1979 and bought it immediately as I recognized it to be the CD that Narongrit “Hon” Ittipolnavakul from Hope the Flowers/Newlights Production/Ageha Café had been raving about on Facebook. It’s an album by Kota Taki, who some may know as the amazing Japanese guitarist who plays with Joe Delaney in Woot Root. This is a cohesive listen-through ambient CD, sonically designed to be played entirely in one sitting. Its soundscapes are sparse but evocative, and both underpinned and overlaid with Kota Taki’s guitars, whose tones range from splinters of noise to quietly stated lead breaks. It reminds me greatly of both Thai contemporaries Kraffa, and Bill Laswell’s Axiom Ambient project album ‘Lost in the Translation’. Buy a copy now! Favorite tracks: All of them!
 
- AW
 

Last year, I finally succeeded in my quest to make the long journey across the wilds of modern Bangkok to the Nong Taprachan music store. It’s quite a distance to get there, and I don’t get down that way too often since the Shaman Bookstore closed on Khao San Road. I have friends who have never found the place, despite searching, but it is possible to find Nong Taprachan and here’s how. My current transport method is to get the Khlong Saen Saep Express Boat to Saphan Phanfa (interchanging at Pratunam), and then grab a motorcycle taxi to Taprachan itself, on the banks of the Chao Praya River next to Thammasat University. You then enter the Taprachan Cross River Ferry building (where you can catch ferries across the river to Wang Lang), and Nong Taprachan is the first shop on the right; you can’t miss it, what with all the CDs and vinyl LPs in the windows, and the friendly, helpful and knowledgeable people that run and work in this musical oasis. It’s the kind of establishment where if you pull out CD X, the proprietors will say, “Well, if you like CD X, you’ll dig CD Y as well”, and before you know it you’ll be staggering outside with a small pile of CDs all of which are almost certainly guaranteed to be aurally awesome. This year I went back for a second time to plunder the riches of Nong Taprachan, and here’s six of the best, culled from the racks of one of Bangkok’s best-kept secrets:

6. “Song From Yesterday” (Finalkid, 2016). This CD is a solo project by Kittipat Knoknark, guitarist for post-rock band Afternoon. It’s an eclectic and disparate collection of tracks: found sounds, tape loops, acoustic guitars, keyboard motifs, synth washes, and the odd snippet of dialog/vocals. Occasional songs ascend in rising crescendos of distortion-drenched shoegazer noise-walls, adding an infrequent invasion of sonic tension. Loosely structured into two sides (A and B), this conceptual release is a long and rewarding listen-through that favors the patient enthusiast. Recommended! Favorite tracks: Cloudless, Moist, Wealthy Day, Bangkok 2012

5. 17September1981 “Nucleus” (Finalkid, 2016). After seeing me grab “Songs From Yesterday” the fine people at Nong Taprachan immediately pressed this CD into my hands, saying it was ‘very similar’. It turns out that, from what I can see, 17September1981 is the solo project of Siwat Auampradit, who is the other guitarist in the instrumental post-rock band Afternoon (and whose 2011 album “Between” is something I really must review soon). Like “Songs From Yesterday”, “Nucleus” comes across very much as a conceptual release, a tight, cohesive body of work linked by eternal themes of time and space. It’s analogous in approach to other one-person band-projects such as Kittipat Knoknark’s “Songs From Yesterday” or Put Suksriwan’s prolific Wednesday. Having said that, I feel it’s possibly more accessible, due to the inclusion of tuneful vocal sing-a-longs and meandering and interweaving guitar-lines. This is a great CD – thoughtful and melodic! Favorite tracks: Ti Drong Nan (“There”), Ter (“Her”), Baan (“Home”), Ngang Khong (“Still”)

4. White Collar “Ready EP” (Youth, 2016). I initially knew nothing about these guys but bought this purely on the minimal-ish cover and the fact Nong Taprachan recommended it as a synth pop/dream pop band. The band themselves are suitably enigmatic and mysterious, though you can listen to more of their tunes here. Interestingly for a Thai synth/dream pop band, the vocals are all male, and in English. The influences are widespread, ranging from original pioneers such as New Order to modern disciples like Wilderness. This is an intriguing and surprising release, a mix of loops and real instruments thumping out upbeat choruses (“I’d Like To Go!”) over deep seas of synth and jangling guitars. Get one now! Favorite tracks: Ready, Love Songs

3. Mattnimare “The Regime” (2016). Mattnimare are Pree “Wan” Asvaraksha (vocals and guitar), Kidakarn “Zung” Chatkawmanee (guitar), Jirakit “Ap” Taowti (bass), Boriboon “Baboon” Weerawong (drums), and this is their first major release. Given the EP’s title, and the fact it’s available in a ‘Dark Edition’ you do wonder about whether it’s a reflection of the current larger political issues of Thai society as a whole. While this is epic Thai alternative rock in its broadest sense, if you listen beyond the obligatory sonic chant-along anthems and emotive power ballads, there are moments of startling originality. Songs such as Deep thrash along to the beat of their own crackling kinetic energy, with alternating lyrics in Thai and English, while others like Tonight are lush widescreen soundscape ruminations of wistfulness. This is a great release and you can buy it direct from the band! Favorite tracks: Deep, Kern Wan Ti 22 Kong Tuk Deuan (“The 22nd Night of Every Month”), Geua Gern Gao (“Afraid To Step Up”), Tonight

2. Little Fox “Whitening EP” (2013). Little Fox is the solo project of Mahasmut “Gene” Bunyaraksh (from Saliva Bastards and Ugly Mountain fame). This five track EP is his second individual release as Little Fox. It’s a mellow acoustic confessional work of breezy vocals and strummed guitars, spanning Thai folk to some of the most chillaxing twelve bar blues you’ll possibly ever hear. This CD is one for those lazy weekends when real life is best kept at a distance, and you just want to curl up on the sofa and watch the fluttering leaves from the banyan sapling growing on the side of your cheap apartment block. Recommended! Favorite tracks: RCRMO, Peur (“Delirious”), Mama Blues, G.Walk

1. Honon “Explanation” (2015). I first encountered Honon when they played the Sofar Sounds August 2015 gig, also featuring Summer Dress, Jinta and Yellow Fang, so when I saw this CD on the racks I snapped it up immediately. Honon are a duo of Solos “On” Sirichote and Rattaporn “Hon” Boontongdee, and they both play a percussive sound sculpture instrument known as a Handpan. The resulting music is a bewitching mix of minimalist beats and melodies, each song resonating with a propulsive tune that steers it onwards through the surrounding silent spaces. They have just released a second CD “Draw”, which you can buy direct from them! Favorite tracks: Happened, Waiting, River Run Through, Explanation.

- AW

A couple of weeks ago I took my wife Cherry to see the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band play at Studio Lam with some friends and we were all blown away by the show. Afterwards, I tried to grab a bunch of CDs from Zudrangma Records (next door to WTF Bar) but they told me to come back tomorrow. This I did, and I promptly loaded up on a CD collection that I’ve been avidly listening to ever since. What follows are my humble reviews:

5. “Isan Dancehall: Special Mix Vol. 3” selected by Maft Sai (Zudrangma Records, n.d.). No track listing for this mix CD but it is “far out/far east sound system culture: tough basslines and heavy percussion from Kingston to Khon Kaen – the sound of the world-wide dancehall”. In this case this is exactly what you get, one continuous mix of groove-laden world tunes that traverse the continents on a musical odyssey of quality. There’s even an elephant on there somewhere! Great stuff!

4. “Thai Funk Zudrangma Volume 1 and 2” (Zudrangma Records, n.d.). These two CDs are compilations of old-school Thai rock, funk, disco, soul and general weirdness, with modern instruments and arrangements driving forth alongside Thai-style percussion and vocals. When I lived in Hong Kong it was common to hear Western pop classics recalibrated in the local market to become Canto-pop, and that approach is very much in evidence here, with tracks like Panadda Chayapark’s take on Boney M’s “Rus Pu Tin”, the Oriental Funk’s dance epic “Loy KraTong Disco”, which is exactly what it says it is, or the heavily James Brown inspired Kee Mao (“Drunk!”) by Soonthorn Sujaridchan. Both CDs are thus a tuk-tuk load of fun on several levels: firstly as kick-ass compilations of seriously groovy music, and secondly as ‘spot-the-influence’ sound-collisions between East and West. Highly enjoyable!

3. “Luk Thung!: The Roots of Thai Funk” (Zudrangma Records, n.d.). This luk thung sampler is a seriously excellent snapshot of classic tracks from the scene. Ploen Phromdaen kicks things off in style with the phleng put speaking song Koy Yung Mai Por (“I still don’t have enough”). From then on it’s a voyage through swooping horn sections, epic strings, percussive beats, and of course, vertigo-inducing vocals that span octave ranges unknown to most singers. Standout tracks include 70s Isan star Saksiam Petchomphu belting out Jeb Jeb Sab Sab Sab (“Hurt hurt, sting sting”), Thepporn Petchubon’s Lao dialect Jon Thai Nor (“So Poor”), Rungfah Puping’s Puyai Lee Santana “Chief Lee Santana” featuring classic interplay between her voice and minimalist phin solo-work, the foot-stomping 12 bar blues meets luk thung of Noppadol Duangporn’s Yaak (“Want”), and ex-monk Dao Bandon’s intriguingly named number Mae Jom Kalon (“Slippery Women”). Get it now!

2. “The Sound of Siam Volume 2: Molam and luk thung from north-east Thailand 1970-1982” (Soundway Records, 2014). The follow-up to Soundway’s Sound of Siam Volume 1, this CD makes an excellent companion to Zudrungma’s Luk Thung! CD reviewed above, despite some doubling up (Thepporn Petchubon’s Pa Gun Koh/Tor (“Let’s Get On”) appears on both for example). However, unlike the funk and shuffle of that CD’s tracks, this is a more traditional affair, a cultural journey through 12 classic years of Isan music. Angkanang Khunchai begins proceedings in suitably epic molam fashion with her take on a singer’s life in Kid Hod Chu, setting the tone admirably for the groove-fest to come. My favorite tracks include ground-breaking solo-weaving between the khaen and electric phin on the Petch Phin Thong Band’s Bump Lam Plearn, the moog-inspired strangeness of Lam Plearn Toe Lhong Tong by Onuma Singsiri(spot the riff!), and the totally spaced out dueling sor and keyboards on the Petch Asia Band’s instrumental track Lam Plearn Tua Yaang. Extensive liner notes and copious details on the tracks and artists themselves all add up to a production that is a must-buy for anyone with interest in Isan, its culture and music. You can get it here!

1. Rasmee “Isan Soul EP” (2016). Rasmee is Rasmee Wayrana on vocals and Satukan Tiya Tira on guitar, and Isan Soul is their first released recording. Rasmee has been singing since the age of five and her powerful voice is by turns awe-inspiring and delicate, while Satukan’s soulful guitar is the perfect accompaniment. While the CD is undeniably molam in flavor, its contemporary stylings give it a feel that is intoxicatingly unique. From the suitably epic Cambodian song Praka Prui (“Withered Flower”), through the rhythmic acoustic funk of Muang Choot Dam (“Black Uniformed City”) to the arresting yet languid melancholia of Lam-Duan, this is a passionate and spectacularly accomplished release. My personal favorite is Nou E-na, a vocal improvisation in Khmer and Lao that sounds like nothing in this world. If you were making a futuristic neo-noir cyber-Isan movie then this would be the soundtrack. You can buy a copy direct from Rasmee here, and be sure to check out their website. More please!

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Despite living in Laos for a year, and also travelling extensively in Isan, I’d never really given much thought to the music of the region and beyond. It was just always there, a constant background presence highlighting the otherness of wherever you were in the area. Two memorable events do stand out though. Firstly, getting off a bus in Ubon Ratchathani in 1998 and being hit with a sonic blast of molam wall of sound from a nearby talat that I literally stopped dead in my tracks. Even by Lao standards, this was something I had never heard before. Secondly, Lao friends took my wife and I to a late night molam bar in Luang Phabang back in 1997, where the unknown singer poured such emotion into her delivery of rural tales of woe that all of us were moved to tears. I hadn’t actively thought about either of those moments until now, and for that I have to thank these amazing and musically important CDs. Go to Zudrangma Records and buy them all now!

Bonus: Book Mini-Review!

Luk Thung: The culture and politics of Thailand’s most popular music by James Leonard Mitchell.

This is a recently published and very detailed look at the world of luk thung by ethnomusicologist James Mitchell. In particular, this book highlights the history and influences of luk thung, and traces its role in the current interesting times that we are experiencing nation-wide. It’s an invaluable reference work if you are in any way interested about luk thung, and it is both readable and informative. Interestingly, there’s no mention of the current revivalist luk thung/molam scene (see the above CDs for examples of this); instead, this book is more of a purist’s look at classic luk thung and its role in modern Thai culture. Chris Baker has written a far more detailed review here, and there’s a good interview with James Mitchell here. I bought my copy at Kinokuniya Paragon (or you can buy direct from the publisher here), but check yours carefully because my cover is upside down to the rest of the book. Nevertheless, this is a highly recommended text!

The rain gods may be displeased with Bangkok this month, cloaking the city in grey clouds and random electrical storms, but that’s no excuse not to get out there to see bands play live and buy their CDs. Since wandering over from the Middle East in June, I’ve been out and about watching awesome musicians jamming it up and collecting whatever jewels of music fall my way. Here’s some of the latest groovy sounds I’ve found:

7. The Dude of Stratosphear “Various Mix CDs” (Bandit’s Ballroom, 2016). I was sitting at GOJA for the first time (pro tip: chilled bar/gallery, great beats) with some urban falconers and their pet hawk, when I spied these CDs for sale. I bought three right there and then, and went back the next day for the others – they’re that good! Basically, they’re mix CDs by Bangkok-based world music DJ Dude of Stratosphear, and they totally rock out, psychedelic-style. Here’s a brief summary of the six I snagged:

“Siga Siga: Vintage Greek Sound”: This one caught me by surprise – some seriously funky Grecian grooves from the sixties and seventies.

“Altered States”: This one is described as ‘Avant garde bass driven beats – a forward thinking and high-energy leftfield hip-hop mix’ and that’s totally it – skittering rhythm tacks, nervous bass lines and blistering intensity.

“Turban Sallamak”: This is a selection of classic tracks from Istanbul to Jakarta, and you just know it’s got some Thai luk thung goodness on it from the golden years.

“Japan-O-Rama: Volume One”: This one’s described as ‘psyched-out oddities from the Land of the Rising Sun’ and it pretty much does what it says on the tin. Weirdness abounds, Japan-style, and it’s all good.

“Irama Gila Indonesia”: This is rare psych, funk, soul and folk from Indonesia 1967-1978 and there’s some stone-cold classics here, including a few that can be found on “Turban Sallamak”. Features my current favorite male song lyric: “Where Are You, Mr. Mahmoud? I Love You Mr. Mahmoud!” That’s gold right there!​

“Fearing Much: Volume 2”: Self-described as a “special blend of 70’s cinematic grooves”, this is a gem of a CD which some classic tracks, of which my total favorite is the lounge/funk version of ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’ from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Genius!

6. The Front Row “The Other Side 2” (2015). My memory is so bad I can’t remember if I pulled this CD from the stacks of either DJ Siam or happening. Don’t let that put you off though, this is a solid polished album of Thai folk-pop: mellow, breezy and wistful. Another perfect piece of music for those Sunday recovery sessions I’m beginning to need all too often. Best thing yet is that it’s the middle album in a trilogy and you can bet your bottom baht I’ll be seeking the other two CDs out pronto. Recommended! Favorite Tracks: First Lady, Chalarkinbeng Rupphatarn (“Lottery Loser”), Ploy (“Let’s Go!”), Sea Sun Sky

5. The Whitest Crow “Bangkok Blondie” (Rats Records, 2015). The Whitest Crow are Patiphan Suwannasingha (vocals and guitar), Wisavachart Sinthuvanic (guitar and synthesizer), Nattapong Promjart (drums) and Nontapat Promjart (bass), and I’m pretty sure I saw them play last year at 1979 and unknown pleasures supporting Phum Viphurit. “Bangkok Blondie” is their debut album and it just came out a couple of months ago. It’s a cracking album, fast heady rock with intricate Thai-style melodies on guitar and synth, and twisted world-weary lyrics in English. Buy it direct from the band! Favorite Tracks: Bangkok Blondie, Give Up On Love, Set the Love on Fire, Lotus Analysis, Be With You

4. Triggs And The Longest Day “Almost Ready!” (2016). Triggs And The Longest Day are fast becoming a Bangkok institution; noise-rock provocateurs that sound like a freeway car collision between a brutal garage band and a sonic wall of noise shoegazer unit. They are Sanpawit Soikum (drums), Nopphon Cheng (bass), Tokin Teekanun (vocals and guitar), and Panmanus Nakata (guitar) and on their debut album “Almost Ready!” they’ve conjured up a storm of discordant trashed-out noise; clattering rhythms, crunchy guitar and brutal thuggish lead breaks. This one’s a keeper – buy it now! Favorite Tracks: Untitled 2, Longest Day, You Don’t Need To Say Anything, The Deal, Let It Go

3. Strange Brew “Strange Brew Sound” (2015). Strange Brew played at the Plastic Section “Frenzy in the City of Hell” album launch at the Soy Sauce Factory, which I unfortunately missed being stuck out on the Arabian peninsula. My friend Allan was there though, and bagged me a CD to listen to and review. Strange Brew play an arresting mix of surf-rock with copious psychedelic influences, and this is an eminently listenable EP; melodic droning rock-noise with plenty of catchy hooks. This EP was on sale at Noise Market last year and if you missed it then you can totally still grab a CD direct from the band! Favorite Tracks: Bangsaen Lady, Plankton Bloom, Starshine

2. |_/\-|_/\ “Waddee” (2016). I saw LaLa play live last year at the Beer Cap on RCA when they supported Wilderness, and I reviewed their single ‘Jaiyen’ here. They are Thanart Rasanont and Teerapong Bumrungcheep, and “Waddee” is their very latest release, a five track EP of groove-laden goodness. LaLa are one of those bands that utilize a synth well when playing live, and that talent is abundantly evident here. This is a seriously fun EP: if the world of Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner had a rave/lounge scene then LaLa would be totally rocking it! Buy your CD from these guys now! Favorite Tracks: Jaiyen, ICU, MOA192B, Rongtao

1. God Hates “1926” (2016). Last time I was in Bangkok with Wolves Versus Fairies I missed these guys play at Immortal Bar at the Ratchada Rot Fai Market for bassist’s Victor’s last gig. I did however catch their new line-up recently at the Overstay for the Doomed Oasis benefit-festival for Spring Fall Sea, and they totally thrashed it out. For me, the best thing is that the live energy transfers seamlessly to the debut album. This is a seriously full-on CD; from the tight rhythm section, through the buzzsaw guitars to James’ blistering howl, it’s like the Dead Kennedys reborn in Bangkok but with a better singer. Seven great songs rounded off with an incendiary cover of Motorhead’s “Iron Fist”. I bought my CD straight from the band, and you should too – get it now! Favorite Tracks: Stark, Jihadi Voltron, 666 Gun Salute, Stiletto Surgery, 1926, My Lai Mai Thai​

I asked God Hates singer James about the meaning behind the album title “1926” and this is what he had to say:

When I went to see Deerhoof play at Harmonica there was this Western dude with blonde shaggy hair standing in front of me while we both watched Hariguem Zaboy, one of the support bands play. I was like, hey, that’s the farang guy from Basement Tape, because I had their first EP but nothing else. I was about to ask him what he was doing musically these days when Hariguem Zaboy finished, and he bounded on stage to become the frontman of Plastic Section, psychobilly rockers extraordinaire. 

Plastic Section have now been around for a while, starting initially (and occasionally still performing) as a Ben Edwards solo project, before acquiring more musicians to become a proper band. They have released two previous albums, “Plastic Section” (Panda Records, 2013), which is reviewed here, and “Combination Special” (Colorcode, 2015), which is reviewed here. “Frenzy in the City of Hell!” is thus their third album in just four years which is fantastic productivity!

The line-up this time is band stalwarts Ben Edwards (vocals, guitar, harmonica, melodica) and Put Wednesday Suksriwan (drums), with Pok Wannarit Pongprayoon moving across from bass to backup second melodica and introducing new bass-player Chigusa Tomita (who contributes backing vocals and one track “Can I Twist?”). I wouldn’t call “Frenzy in the City of Hell!” a concept album, but it definitely has a common theme and that would be life in this big crazy city called Bangkok. Indeed, with song titles such as “Frenzy”, “I Quit”, “City of Hell”, “Overboard”, “City of Angles”, “Blow Up”, and “Leaving Here”, this is a farewell ode to Bangkok; a place many of us enter but few have the strength to ever truly leave. 

A selection of my favourite tracks runs as follows:

• “Frenzy” – First song off the blocks is a foot-stomper that careens along at the speed of a screaming guitar. Does what it says on the tin!
• “I Quit” – This is a staple of the live shows and a song for anyone who despises their job. Sample lyrics: “I’d rather drink muddy water and sleep in a hollow log than work like a slave for some psychopathic hog.”
• “City of Hell” – Down south there’s a signpost that says ’Bangkok 666km’ and that’s what this incandescent rocker of a song is about, Hell City. Sample lyrics: “Crazy primal music screaming in your ear. A meal of weed and whiskey all washed down with beer.”
• “Blow Up” – My vote for best track on the album. This epic chugs along, starting slowly before building into a rising crescendo of blistering noise. Recommended!
•  “Red Hotel” – A slow-burn album-closer, a harmonica-fuelled tribute to any number of lonely empty hotel bars city-wide, and a spiritual sequel to “Red Velvet” from “Combination Special”.

As you’d expect from an album about leaving, Plastic Section, at least in this current incarnation, have left the building. At least for the time being. Based on this album, you have to wonder has Ben Edwards seen something further down the road that is best avoided, or is he simply moving on? Plastic Section’s final album for now is document of Bangkok and of a band that always gave far, far more than they took. It’s by far their best one yet.

“Frenzy in the City of Hell!” has been released as 300 limited edition CDs. Get yours now before they’re all gone by buying one at DJ Siam, 1979 and unknown pleasures, or Nong Taprachan. In addition, you can purchase and download Plastic Section’s entire back catalogue here, including several digital-only EPs that never had a physical release, for the Plastic Section fan who must have everything. Buy them all now!

References
Egan, J. (2010). A visit from the goon squad. New York: Knopf.

​Our Saudi-based garage punk band Wolves Versus Fairies played a show in Bangkok at Fatty’s over the Spring Break, which was a ton of fun! While there I visited a few of the Bangkok music shops and bought a pile of brand new CDs from the local Thai indie scene. The eight CDs reviewed below represent the very best of the bunch and as your Underground Retro blogger I would strongly advise you to immediately go out and buy all of them right now!
 
8. Arm Wainiya “Cycling” (Newlights Production, 2015). Arm Wainiya is the keyboard player for Narongrit Ittipolnavakul’s solo project Hope The Flowers (reviewed here), and “Cycling” is Arm’s second individual release after the five track E.P. “Hidden Corner” (Newlights Production, 2014 – you can buy this at Candide). “Cycling” is a sparse haunting album of Nyman-esque instrumental piano pieces with no accompaniment, and as such is radically different and a nice change of pace from anything else out there on the indie scene at the moment. It’s perfect for those long afternoons when you just want to laze around and scrape the mind free of social and mental detritus – buy yours now, or download it here! Favorite tracks: Minimal Tales, Myteria, Sphere77, Reincarnation
 
7. Jenny & the Scallywags “self-titled” (2016). Jenny and the Scallywags are Jennifer Lackgren (guitar, lead vocals), Charlie McSkallywag (lead guitar), Adam Sharpe (ukulele, vocals and percussion), Will C. Corbin, (ukulele, vocals and percussion), Paul Romaine (keys, bass and guitar), Matthew Johnson (drums), and they have been playing their melodic indie folk-pop across Bangkok and elsewhere for some time now, winning MTV’s Project Aloft Star (South-East Asia) award in 2015. This EP is their debut release and it comprises four tightly-crafted songs packed with glorious vocal harmonies and acoustic goodness. You can buy it here or download it here. Lead single Sounds Like Maybe is currently number 1 on the Cat Radio indie Top 30! Favorite tracks: Blinded, Sounds Like Maybe, The Beast
 
6. PHY “It’s Nearly Dawn E.P.” (Newlights Production, 2015). PHY are a Thai-Japanese band featuring Tsurumaki Hide (guitar, vocals), Yamada Makoto (bass), Po Tawan (drums), Namikawa Yusuke (guitar), and this EP is their first release. It’s very cleanly produced exhilarating post-rock, fast and buoyant, with some stylistic similarities to aire, but including soaring upbeat vocals sung in English. It’s totally worth buying a CD (I got mine at happening), or buying the EP online here! Favorite tracks: Right Switch & Left Button, Hanging Garden
 
5. Spring.Fall.Sea “Deep down, all of them felt as he did, they felt abandoned” (Newlights Production, 2015). Spring.Fall.Sea are a Bangkok-based three-piece comprising Clive (bass), Dylan (drums), and Marvin (guitar), and this, their debut release, is a rip-roaring slab of rhythmically tight guitar-driven instrumental indie rock. It contains moments of both atmospheric reflection and furious intent, tearing along at a rapid pace through all seven excellent tracks. Epic stuff! I bought my CD at the happening shop but you can also download a copy here. Favorite tracks: Heavy Rain, Robert, A Drop In The Ocean, Capture the Castle, Inhale Exhale
 
4. Hope The Flowers “Into The Parallel” (Newlights Productions, 2015). Hope The Flowers are an instrumental post-rock band whose seriously good album “Nature of Everything” I previously reviewed here. This is their latest single and was released for the 2015 Noise Market. It starts gently, building gradually into an intense lengthy slugfest of droning chiming guitars, and thundering rhythms, overlayed with Arm’s keys and Narong’s searing lead solos; a total anthem of sound. This CD is a limited edition so grab one from the band or the happening shop at BACC while stocks last! Favorite tracks: Into The Parallel
 
3. aire “Indoor Picnic” (2015). This two-track CD single is aire’s follow up to their 2014 album “You Are Here”, which I reviewed previously, and it’s a brilliant snapshot of a band enjoying their sonic creativity. The title song is an uplifting fast-tempo number with abrupt changes that propel it every onwards. The second song Mizukiri kicks off with killer guitar hooks that loop backwards and forwards in duelling waves of six-string noise. Highly recommended! Favorite tracks: Both of them!
 
2. Wednesday “Lazarus” (Colorcode, 2015). Wednesday is the solo project of Bangkok indie hero Put Suksriwan, and “Lazarus”, his second album, is the follow-up to his accomplished debut “Bangkok Session”, which I reviewed here. This time around, the weapon of choice is clearly the guitar, and the self-described ‘big noise electro shoegaze’ has been mixed and mastered by Shane Edwards (The Libertines). This is an extremely skilful and consummately made album; the tracks’ moods are varied without sprawling, and yet focused but never too similar. It’s an atmospheric work of art and my chosen soundtrack for spring break and beyond. It can be yours too – buy a CD here, or listen to it here online! Favorite tracks: Apollo Pt. 1, Apollo Pt. 5, Lazarus, Consigliere, Bad Garden
 
1. PC0832/676 “Before The Journey” (2015). I thought this band was amazing when I reviewed their debut EP here, and since then they’ve added a fourth member to the line-up, Paveenwat Chaisinlapaboon (synth), to further enrich the mosaic of noise. This follow-up is one of the best things I’ve heard this year, with ever-tightening coils of interconnecting loops and improvised beats, all raging with heightened levels of emotive resonance, to support an intertwined melodic matrix of guitars, bass and synth. Again the paradox is clear: uncomfortable and yet rewarding, disturbingly familiar and ultimately a quest through sound itself. This is not a CD to idly flick through, track by track; it is an experience to listen to across an entire sitting, to savour and enjoy. I bought my CD by contacting the band directly and you should too! Favorite tracks: They’re all good! (But if pressed I’d go for Question of Compromise, Reversal Rush (Demo), Unknown and War (Wall))

This review was approached with some degree of trepidation, because, let's face it, if Fugazi grew up in Bangkok they'd be Degaruda; a near legendary band familiar to anyone in this city who enjoys good live music: whip-crack tight and blazing sonic guitars. On their second album "Monstrous Victorious" the band are Top Tarasin (vox/guitars and all the amazing artwork as thesecondbus), Dino Tarasin (vox/guitars), Van Lakarnchua (drums), and new recruit Chin Chutimachalothorn (bass). Van plays bass in instrumental rockers aire, while the Tarasin brothers have previous form in awesome early-doors Bangkok underground bands: From the Makers of Casablanca and the Eastbound Downers. From The Makers Of Casablanca only put out one album, but the Eastbound Downers cranked out at least four CDs, with each being very different from the last. Given Degaruda's debut self-titled album was such an aurally cohesive listening experience of blistering victory metal, what then of its successor?
The short version is that "Monstrous Victorious" is excellent. The long version: it's surprisingly experimental at times, but yet another vision of clarity; a more complicated story but a united whole. Other bands may release albums that are collections of songs grouped only by timeliness whereas, on the evidence of their two albums so far, Degaruda deal in big-picture wide-screen concepts, unified by both sound and art. Given this, I'll refrain from scavenging individual tracks and look instead at the three major parts to Monstrous Victorious (which are separated by two minor instrumental pieces, Selene and Helios).

• Part One: This is classic Degaruda, kicked off by howling screams of "I was wrong!" at the start of No One's Home. Epic riffs, twin lead breaks and punchy rhythms lead us bloodied and blindfolded through the shredding slugfests of The Thing and Harmony, CA. Three tracks in and we're already slack-jawed in awe...
• Part Two: New Degaruda! This five-song set, featuring Ataraxia, Lucatiel, Pilgrimage, Sire and Entropy, sees the band embrace a wide variety of styles ranging from the stomping anthem Ataraxia to the spectral instrumental reggae of Pilgrimage. Lucatiel is a particular highlight, with its melodic intro giving way to a glistening slab of thunderous riffage, as is the incendiary opus that is Sire. Could it be what I think it is about? "My name decides all of the souls that want to fall in line..."
• Part Three: The coda. Album closing track Tusk is a gloriously short sharp stab of noise and rants: "It doesn't feel, it doesn't feed, it doesn't care, it doesn't bleed".

"Monstrous Victorious" is a serious kick-ass snapshot of a band in control. It's muscular and powerful, and yet its moments of quietness and introspection only serve to create a contrast that strengthens the album's entirety. The bar has been set still higher.
You can buy a CD directly from the band here, or download the tracks here. Get it now!

Matthew Fischer is known to many in Bangkok as the restaurateur extraordinaire behind Fatty’s, as well as the self-deprecating frontman for local band Matthew Fischer and the Fishes. However, our eponymous hero is also an accomplished solo musician in his own right, as any who saw him support Eef Barzelay last year could attest. Matthew Fischer’s debut solo LP “Hangman” was, in the words of one scribe: “a rough, raw work of honest acoustic Americana, both wistful and heart-felt”. What then of his sophomore effort “Radio Sound”, released this month by Panda Records?
The great news is that the added Thai indie hook-ups have really enhanced Matthew Fischer’s original folk visions and not overwhelmed them; perhaps no surprise for anyone familiar with Panda boss Wannarit Pongprayoon’s My Post Life acoustic side project. There’s lushness here; a sense of purpose and concept best exemplified by the found sounds that split the music into four distinct chapters. It’s a workbook of, and for, life – acoustic, mellow and reflective sounds for an electric city screaming head-long into an unknowable future.
My favourite tracks, in rough LP order:

• Radio Sound - First song out of the blocks sounds like a misty-eyed paean to nostalgic melancholia. Check out the video by Gary Boyle!
• Calling You – Mellow acoustic ballad about shared plans gone wrong…
• Love Myself – Indonesian voices from the abyss lead into an epic tale of redemption versus death, accompanied by killer mouth-harp.
• Bad Things – Meandering tale of endless frustration lends itself easily for my pick as the stand-out album track.
• The Way Things Are – Fatalistic charmer of a song accompanied by glorious vocal harmonies.
• Up in Wisconsin – Closing number is a foot-stomping barn-stormer familiar to anyone lucky enough to see Matthew (and the Fishes) live.

For those baffled or suffocated by the constant techno-babble of a society obsessed with wealth-chasing and happiness-reclamation, Matthew Fischer’s “Radio Sound” is a welcome antidote and a rewarding blueprint for life at a slower pace. Highly recommended!

“Radio Sound” is released by Panda Records on March 10th, 2016. Join the party here.